Syracuse, NY -- More than 1,200 people walking a 1.4 mile course through downtown Syracuse helped raise $122,000 today for the Western & Central New York chapter of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, an organizer said.

The chapter’s 13th annual Light the Night Walk at Clinton Square also included live music, raffles and a remembrance ceremony. Corporate sponsorships and the sale of paper balloons helped build the fund-raising total, said Luann Burgio, the chapter’s deputy executive director.

The money will be spent locally, providing financial aid to people battling leukemia and lymphoma, financing five research projects sponsored by the chapter and providing funds for the chapter’s First Connection counseling program, Burgio said.